


The Curse of Batman and Robin

by songbvrd



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Body Swap, Halloween, Idiots in Love, Liam POV, Liam's an idiot, M/M, No Proofreading We Die Like Men, OTLSpooktober2020, Post-Canon, Theo's bad at flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:41:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27301360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/songbvrd/pseuds/songbvrd
Summary: Liam and Theo are friends. Sort of. They live together and spend a lot of time together, but they also fight. Constantly.When a body swapping curse leaves them having to pretend to be each other, shenanigans ensue.
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Comments: 11
Kudos: 110





	The Curse of Batman and Robin

**Author's Note:**

> This was meant to be like 2000 words but it kept developing! Hope you guys enjoy, and Happy Halloween!

“Fuck you, Dunbar.” 

“No, fuck you, Raeken!”

They were friends, really. It was weird. A weird, competitive, angry kind of friendship. They did nothing but yell at each other some of the time

It had been months since the elevator, months since the war ended, and frankly, Liam was getting really sick of Theo's bullshit.

How he managed to be both nice and the most excruciatingly annoying person alive was an outright mystery to the younger werewolf, but he managed it.

There were times when Liam actually liked Theo. Times when the older boy could be really understanding, or really helpful. He had helped him to get good grades in science, because Liam sucked at it. In turn, Liam had helped him with history.

It was annoying, because Theo actually didn't suck at history, but Theo didn't suck at many things actually.

Which was part of the reason Liam regularly decided that he hated him for a time.

It never lasted, because as annoyed as he was by Theo, he did also like him. He would never tell him that, god forbid the already painfully egotistical chimera get another boost on his account.

"Did you seriously have to take my fucking car?" Theo was demanding, and Liam just stared at him, trying hard to look threatening, though he suspected he looked like a nervous puppy. He had a vague memory of Theo suggesting Liam was tougher than he looked.

That only made him want to swear at Theo again, because fuck Theo, he looked plenty tough!

"Yes, I seriously had to take your fucking car. Mine was in the shop and I wasn't going to miss my lacrosse game on your account, especially considering you never fucking go anywhere--"

"Oh, fuck you, you know that's not the point!"

Liam stuck his tongue out at Theo, and Theo looked like he might throttle him in his sleep.  
Which was another thing, Liam took Theo in. Theo should be grateful! Theo should be glad Liam was even around to steal his car. Theo was actually a really nice house guest and Liam was pretty sure his mother liked the chimera better, but still!

Liam still was the one to take Theo in. He was the one to notice Theo was living in that stupid truck. He was the one who gave Theo the money to get the air conditioning fixed when it was too cold out and he had no money.

He'd fully expected that when his mother found out what Theo had done, she would hate him, but instead, she'd simply shaken her head and said he'd needed a mother. Liam was kind of annoyed about it, if only because he was clearly the better son here.

"How is that not the point? You were napping, like you're not a supernatural chimera with superpowers and I didn't want to wake you so I just took the car! I took care of it and everything!"

"Liam! How are you this dense? You left the windows open and got snow inside! That is literally the opposite of taking care of it."

Liam just sort of whined in response, because honestly, he had no good answer to that and his only strategy was play at cute.

It never worked, but it was his only plan.

"No, shut up, I don't want to see your puppy eyes right now. You're cleaning out the god damn snow."

"But I was meant to go trick or treating!" Liam whined, amping up the puppy eyes as much as possible.

"Don't make me spank you." That was another thing Liam hated about Theo. Theo had a weird tendency to drop incredibly flirtatious things into conversation with absolutely no warning. Liam would be innocently trying to hate him and Theo would suddenly be saying something either overtly sexual or weirdly romantic.

Maybe he wouldn't hate it so much if it didn't wildly confuse him.

Liam just stared at him, scandalised.

After a moment, he recovered enough to say, "Are you seriously going to make me miss out on Trick or Treating to clean out your car?"

Theo glared at him, "You're too old for Trick or Treating anyway."

"Seriously, who shit in your cheerios this morning?"

"Sorry, I didn't have a lot of time for fun Halloween games amongst all the, y'know, torture and murder and being a chimera of death."

Liam couldn't resist the opportunity to poke at him. "You kinda suck at being a chimera of death, by the way. Wasn't I supposed to die? Wasn't that the plan? And now you live with me."

Theo looked like he just might kill him right at that moment, so Liam took off running. Theo was chasing him and they were both laughing, skidding along the floors in socked feet, Liam trying to reach his room and slam the door before Theo caught him.

Instead, as Liam dived for his bedroom, Theo jumped on him and they both crashed to the ground. If his mother was here, she might've killed them both herself, but instead they were here, wrestling on the floor of the hallway outside his room, Liam desperately trying -- and failing -- to get the upper hand.

Instead, Theo was straddling him, holding his arms down and Liam was trying desperately to get back. He remembered what Theo had said once, that Liam was useless in a fight unless he was really angry. That was probably some part true, since when he wasn't angry, Liam had little real will to fight, but he couldn't bring himself to get angry enough to be useful right then.

"Get off me, you fake werewolf asshole!" Liam growled anyway, because it seemed like the thing he was meant to do.

"Or what, Dunbar? What are you going to do about it? Make me?"

Actually, Liam didn't have a good answer to that. He was trying to make him, and though Liam knew by all rights he was stronger, he was not winning this fight.

Liam got just enough leverage to kick Theo in the balls, and the older boy groaned and fell sideways off him. Liam laughed loudly in success, before Theo sat up enough to sucker punch Liam between the legs right back. Liam's knees curled up against his chest and he let out a cough of pain.

"You fucking suck." Liam managed.

"I would, but I don't know that you'd feel much right now."

"I hate you."

They lay there in silence for a minute, neither making much of an effort to move, both breathing heavily. Liam wasn't particularly annoyed, even about the sucker punch, because he kind of deserved that one.

After a moment, Theo grumbled and began to sit up. Liam's eyes widened in confusion and he blinked at the other boy. Did he have a concussion or something? Because by now, he knew Theo pretty well. He knew what he looked like at 4am when he was stealing cereal and he knew what he looked like first thing in the morning when he hadn't done his hair yet.

That wasn't Theo's hair.

He blinked, wondering if he had lost his mind. Wondering if he was asleep or something.

"Theo...?"

The voice that came out wasn't his own, and Liam nearly jumped out of his skin. Or out of Theo's skin rather, because this deep, husky voice absolutely did not belong to him and Liam felt panic rush through him.

"What the fuck is this, what did you do?!" Liam could hear his own voice saying the words, see his own body, but it wasn't him. It wasn't his choice. Everything from the tone to the way he was holding himself looked wrong, and Liam didn't know what to say.

"What did I do?" Liam was speaking, but it was Theo's voice. He'd never heard Theo's voice sound so shrill before, but Liam supposed that was because he was the shrill one of the two of them. "What did you do?!"

"I didn't do shit." The cadence of his own voice sounded wrong coming from Theo.

Liam held out his hands, looking down at them. They weren't his. He held them up to his face, ran his fingers over it. The features were different. The hair was different. He got to his feet and found himself looking down at Theo, which was not usually the case, since Theo was slightly taller.

"Don't look at me naked!" Liam suddenly exploded and Theo just blinked at him like he was stupid.

"Liam, I hate to break this to you, but we're gonna see each other here. Or are you planning to not pee for however long this lasts?"

Why did Theo make him look cooler than he normally did? That didn't seem fair.

"I'm going to hold it in forever if I have to and so are you." Liam insisted, wincing at the way his voice sounded. "We need to figure out how the fuck to make this go back."

"Speak for yourself. Not peeing is really bad for your bladder control. I won't have you ruining my body because you're a prude." Theo told him. Liam just pouted at himself. "You look better as me." Theo added and Liam was pretty sure he'd kill him if they didn't switch back in the next five minutes.

"Ah, well, I'm going to go get changed." Theo smirked at him and Liam set his jaw. Maybe the next four minutes.

"We should go to Deaton." Liam said quickly, "He'll know what to do. I am not going to Lydia's Halloween party like this, Theo, you are not a good costume."

"I'm a fucking great costume." Theo snorted. "Okay, but then we'll have to get changed." Theo added, a little more seriously. He looked down at himself, wearing the boxers and singlet Liam had worn to bed. "I can't go to Deaton like this. And you can't go like that." He nodded at Liam, who glanced down and saw himself in boxers and a hoodie.

"I don't want to see you naked." Liam whined.

Theo's brows raised, "Why? Afraid you might like it?"

Yes, actually, but Theo didn't need to know that.

"No!" He snapped back, "Because you're a gross egomaniac and I don't need to see what you're packing." He scoffed.

"Well, if you want to go to Deaton, we're getting changed, because I'm not going outside like this." Theo raised his brows, something of a challenge. Liam hated looking at his own face like this, it was way too confronting. Why did his lips look like that? Were his eyebrows weird shaped?

"What are you doing, checking yourself out?" Theo asked, grimacing as Liam apparently stared at him a little too intensely.

He swallowed, a grumpy pout taking over his face. "Is my face really that weird?" He asked, sounding a bit defeated.

"Your face is beautiful, Dunbar, go get dressed."

Theo turned and walked off towards Liam's bedroom and Liam just blinked in his wake. Weirdly nice. Liam didn't get the joke.

When he was alone in Theo's room, he looked around, suddenly feeling out of his depth. He'd been in the chimeras room before, of course. They hung out a lot and Theo wasn't super private with Liam, but still.

Being alone in here, as him, was weird.

Liam absentmindedly opened the closet, eyeing it for some clothing he recognised.

Theo was too organised, it was weird.

He found a green pullover. It was a soft thing, seemed worn, but Liam knew it brought out Theo's eyes, so he chucked it on the bed absentmindedly while he looked for other things.  
He settled on a pair of ripped black jeans and a pair of white converse sneakers.

This was the harder part. He took a deep, concerned breath and looked down at himself.

He tried not to look for too long at Theo's bare legs, because he felt weird about it, but he knew he would have to be at least semi-aware to get changed fully and get ready.

Taking a deep breath, he pulled the boxers down and stared at the ceiling. Without looking, without invading Theo's privacy, he tried to pull the jeans on. Try though he might, Liam just wasn't graceful enough for this. Pants around his calves, he fell to the floor in a heap with a bang and a scream.

A moment later, the door flew open and Theo was staring at him. Or... he was staring at him. Whichever.

"Didn't think I could look that pathetic, but there I am. Looking that pathetic." Theo told him. Liam pouted. "How did you end up like that?"

"I was trying not to look at you!" Liam defended himself, feeling stupid.

"Liam, I'm going to say this one time and one time only. I do not care if you look at me. Hurry up." Theo closed the door behind himself and Liam could hear his own footsteps padding down the hall again.

Liam took a deep breath and got to his feet again, still trying not to look much, but looking enough to actually get them up successfully this time around.

Liam took a deep breath, because he wasn't game to leave the house without deodorant, even as Theo, but deodorant meant having to go into Theo's bathroom, where the mirrors were, without his shirt on. Steeling himself for what felt like a big moment, though he had actually seen Theo shirtless many a time, he walked into the bathroom, stripped the hoodie off and looked for the deodorant.

This wasn't his first time seeing Theo shirtless, not even close. But this felt different, because Theo wasn't here and so Liam was alone with his body. The whole thing felt weird and he didn't know what to do with that information, and even though Theo had said he didn't care whether Liam looked, Liam still felt guilty looking. Still it was hard not to. It was hard not to look in the mirror, because he didn't have to pretend not to be looking now. He could take notice of the freckles on Theo's shoulders, the way he was slightly bow legged, the arches of his arms. He could look and Theo wouldn't know. He even had Theo's permission...  
With that thought, Liam turned, walking back out of the bathroom a little too quickly, grabbing the pullover and pulling it on. He grabbed a beanie Theo had left on the nightstand and pulled it over Theo's messy hair, the thought of running his fingers through Theo's hair too much to deal with currently.

He spared a quick thought for the fact that the first time he'd seen Theo in this beanie, Theo had been pulling him into an elevator and saving his life. Theo had sworn he wasn't going to die for him. Theo had lied. Liam swore he wouldn't either. Liam lied too. Just like Liam lied when he said he would use Theo as bait. Just like Theo lied when he said he was only staying with Liam as long as it helped him.

When he left the room, Theo was already leaning on the bannister outside. He wore a light blue sweater that was a little too tight on Liam and plain black jeans. Liam wondered absently why he'd chosen to put Liam's body in those clothes. He was scrolling on his phone, seemingly too distracted, when he glanced up and caught sight of Liam.

"I'd never put that beanie with that pullover." Theo told him, and Liam just scowled at him.

"Oh, keep doing that face, you actually sorta look like me, instead of weird, soft, puppy me." Theo teased and Liam scoffed in response.

"I hate you," He grumbled, and Theo tutted.

"You ruined it."

When they made their way downstairs, Liam realised he'd forgotten something very important. 

Parents. He had parents.

"Good morning, my boys!" His mother beamed, putting two plates down on the table, presumably for them, before returning to the stove to get another pancake off and onto a plate in the middle of the table. "Since it's a Saturday, I thought we'd all have breakfast together."

He and Theo exchanged a look. They knew each other well by this point. Really well. They had spend great deals of time together over the past few months, but still. Liam didn't know if they could convincingly be each other.

“Uh, sure.” The words came out of Liam’s mouth, but Theo said them, and Liam felt like he was going to be sick. It was fine. This was fine. Theo was pretty quiet. He didn’t talk that much. Liam could just sit there quietly and pull faces every so often.

The far more terrifying part was Theo’s part. Liam talked a lot. About school, about video games, about girls, about lacrosse. Liam did nothing but talk. Which meant if Theo sat there quietly, they’d realise something was off.

“I heard you guys banging around upstairs before and I didn’t want to... interrupt anything.” She cleared her throat and the innuendo was clear. What Liam’s mom thought was happening was clear. Liam wished he could simply cease to exist.

“I wish.” Liam’s eyes opened wide when he heard himself speak. Or heard Theo speak more like. Theo said it, but to Liam’s parents, Liam did. To them, Liam had just dropped a wildly uncomfortable bomb in front of everyone.

Liam choked on the pancake in his mouth, mentally thinking of a thousand ways to murder Theo and dispose of his body.

He took a drink of water and finally managed to regain his composure when he heard his mother mutter, “I know.”

Liam, who had just calmed down enough to start eating, choked all over again, the coughing more violent now.

“Stop it, you two, you’re going to give poor Theo a heart attack.” Dr Geyer said and patted Liam’s — or who he thought was Theo’s — shoulder. “Don’t worry, son, they’re just messing around.”

Liam blinked at his step-father a few times. What the hell did his parents think was going on here?

He couldn’t get out of here fast enough. Theo had just irreparably ruined his ability to look his parents in the eye, so that was wonderful, and Liam was really beginning to need to pee.  
Liam turned to look at Theo, trying to give him his best ‘I’m going to fucking kill you’ glare, but Liam’s own face just smiled innocently back at him.

“So, uh, if not... that, what were you boys doing up there? Not trying to kill my son again, I hope?” It was a joke, albeit a needling one, and Liam thought it was no surprise he’d ended up as sarcastic and irritable as he was with a mother like this. She was staring directly at him, and Liam realised the joke was at him, because she thought he was Theo. She thought he was the one who’d nearly killed Liam.

“Um... no.” Liam began, trying to think what Theo would say in this situation. Something witty and charming, most likely. Liam didn’t think he was either of those things. “I tackled him because he left my car window open in the snow.”

His mother gasped, turning to stare at Theo. “Liam!” She reprimanded, and Liam could tell he’d made the right call. “You have to clean out Theo’s car!”

Theo turned to look at him, but Liam just smiled innocently back. Sweet, sweet karma.

“But Jenna, he—“ Theo realised his mistake too late.

“Liam Eugene Dunbar, you do not call me by my first name.”

Theo winced back and Liam just smiled with pride.

“You go, right now, and clean out Theo’s car.”

Liam watched Theo get to his feet and trudge the front door.

He wanted to gloat a little more, but now seemed like a good time to escape to see Deaton, so Liam just followed after Theo, trying hard to mimic the way he walked. Liam was nowhere near as graceful, so it was something of a challenge.

As soon as Liam walked out the front door, Theo shoved him. “You prick.”

Liam grinned, “You’re the one who started it!” His expression fell as he remembered, “Did you really tell my Mom I wanted to fuck you? What the hell, dude?”

“In my defence, that’s true.”

Liam shoved him back.

“Go fuck yourself.” Liam told him.

“If you insist.” Theo said with a smirk and stepped towards him.

“Ew!” Liam scoffed, taking a step back. “Don’t ever pull that face again, I don’t want to know what I look like when I’m trying to be seductive. I’m never going to flirt with anybody ever again.”

“Fine by me.” Theo said with an easy shrug.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“I’m fine with you not flirting with anyone else.” He said casually, “You’re mine anyway.”

He took off walking towards his car and Liam stared after him like he was crazy.

What the fuck was that supposed to mean?

He followed Theo to the car and got into the passenger seat. The ride to the Animal Clinic was quiet, save for Theo humming. It was odd to hear it in Liam’s own voice, and he found he sort of missed Theo’s own humming. Not that he’d ever tell him as much. He liked Theo’s voice, but Theo was too self assured already, he didn’t need more points.

By the time they got to the animal clinic, Liam was stressed again. He kept thinking about what if they couldn't undo it. What if he was stuck in Theo's -- undeniably gorgeous -- body forever? It wasn't what he was intending from his life, and he didn't really know what he was supposed to do about it. Deaton was literally their only plan and if he wasn't able to fix it, did that mean Liam was just stuck like this? That he had to look at his own stupid face every single day?

"I can feel your nervous energy from here." Theo complained as they walked towards the clinic.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not freaking out about having to be stuck in your body for the rest of my life," He laughed, but it came out as a nervous, strained chuckle. He'd never heard Theo sound that way before, and he didn't like it.

He'd never heard himself sound so measured and restrained before either, which was also deeply unsettling, but for different reasons.

"It's going to be fine. You're not going to be stuck like that. I'm not going to be stuck like this."  
Liam whined, "I don't want to look at my own face forever, Theo,"

Theo sighed, "You understand that you're going to have to anyway? That mirrors are a thing?" Liam shot him a look, "I don't want to look at your face for eternity either, but here we are. Just... relax. We don't know anything yet, you're freaking out for nothing."

When Deaton let them in, Liam watched his own body stalk into the room, lean against the wall, and fold his arms. It was a move so quintessentially Theo that Liam had to roll his eyes.

"You're such a dick." He muttered, shaking his head.

Deaton gave the two of them a look, frowning. "Something isn't right here."

Theo snorted from across the room and Liam let out a sigh, shaking his head, "That's one way to put it." He grumbled.

Deaton stared at him a beat longer, eyes narrowing. "Liam...?" He asked, and Liam was honestly relieved that he had recognised him.

"Unfortunately, yes." Theo snarked.

"I will murder you." Liam snapped back.

Deaton just stared at them both. "At the risk of getting into a conversation I don't really want to have with you two, how did this happen?"

Theo snickered and Liam just shook his head, "He tackled me. When we both sat back up, we were each other."

"Mm." Deaton turned away from them, pulling a book out of the cabinet. The two boys went on snarking back and forth, mostly threatening each other, with the occasional disarming comment from Theo thrown in. Liam wondered if he did it purely because it got a reaction, but he also had no idea how to stop reacting to it.

It was a little while before Deaton had an answer for them, but when he did, Liam didn't like it.

"You've been cursed."

"You're right, it is a curse to be stuck with Liam's face." Theo agreed with a serious nod.

Liam glared, "Shut up, you said my face was beautiful this morning."

Deaton's eyes widened with discomfort and he cleared his throat, "Anyway. These things tend to last for a particular time period. You probably upset some creature out in the woods. That's usually how these things start."

Liam eyed Theo, because there was no way this wasn't his fault. He had a tendency to piss everyone off.

"So... how long is it going to last?" Liam asked, worried about what the answer was going to be.  
"If I had to guess? Forty-eight hours." Deaton told them seriously, "But there's no way to know for sure. For the time being, I suggest you both go home, hole up and wait it out."

*

"I am not going!" Liam glared, his face twisted in annoyance.

"Yes, you are. We both know that Mason and Corey will come here and drag us to that party if we don't go. Besides, I've already got the costumes sorted." Theo was smiling, and Liam wondered if that was what his face looked like when he was evil, because that was an evil look.

"... Why does that make me very, very nervous?" Liam asked, blinking at Theo.

Theo just grinned ahead as he drove and Liam had a bad feeling he was absolutely not going to want to go to this party once he saw the costumes.

*

"No!" Liam snapped, trying to sound firm, but ending up sounding shrill and panicked.

"Yes." Theo grinned back at him.

"I am not putting that on my body."

"I know you're not. I am. I'm putting it on your body."

"Absolutely fucking not."

"I've already paid."

"So?!"

"It's me who's wearing it anyway."

Liam wanted to be cocky about it. "Fine. It's you who's going to be embarrassed anyway. I just get to be Batman."

Theo had a twinkle in his eye and Liam wanted to hit him. He had never wanted to punch his own face so badly before. "Sure. Except... you know what's great about that?"

Liam just pouted, knowing he was going to say something horrible.

"Nobody knows it's me in here. So whatever I do, or say, or however I wear it, the whole pack thinks it's you."

Liam stared. "No! I'll be Robin, you can be Batman."

Theo snorted, "I'm a lot bigger than you, Liam, no offence, but that would look obscene on me. Do you really want to do that?"

Liam was loathe to admit it, but he had a point. And given that it was already Halloween, it wasn't like there were too many costumes available to them.

Liam had no other move left but to beg. "Theo, please. Can't you just say I'm sick? Can't you just... Can't you just take pity on me and not do that? Please?"

"Oh, hell no. This is going to be hilarious."

"Theo!" He whined, "I'll... I'll clean out your car. I'll do all your washing for a month! I'll pay for gas for a year... I'll do anything."

"There is nothing you can offer me that I want more than seeing this party play out." Theo smirked.

"Why?" He whined, trying his best to give puppy eyes. Theo's eyes didn't seem to work as well as his own did on Theo.

"You should be glad. It was almost so much worse than this."

Liam's eyes widened as they just waltzed away like he hadn't terrified him. "What the fuck does that mean? Theo? What were you going to put me in?!" He called, jogging after Theo out of the store.

*

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Liam asked, defeat running through his veins as he looked at Theo and how he had desecrated Liam's body with this costume.

"What? You look good." Theo said, an obvious evil glint to his eye.

Liam pouted at his own body. The thing was skin tight, for one thing. It was a latex, skin tight, Robin costume. Complete with booty shorts rather than tights and a latex cape.

"Why? Why did you put me in that? What is your obsession with putting me in clothes visibly too small for me?"

Theo just shrugged, doing a spin in the costume. Liam winced. Why? Why did Theo hate him so much?

Liam, for his part, looked a lot more normal. He was wearing a morph suit Batman costume, and while it was still... revealing, it was nowhere near as bad as the one Theo had put on his body. He was fully covered, for one thing, and looked totally normal.

"Why do you hate me? Why did you put you in this and me in that? Like... what did I do to you? Did I kill you in a past life? Did I accidentally run over a beloved childhood pet? Why do you hate me?"

Theo tried and failed to hide the laugh that erupted out of him. Liam didn't like it, it sounded weird on his own body. Plus, he was busy trying to figure out why Theo was sabotaging him.  
Sure, Liam had let snow into his car, but Theo had ordered these costumes way before that. He was a good housemate, he thought. They played games together, studied together, watched movies together. Why did Theo hate him?

Liam took a deep sigh, trying to pull himself together. "Alright, well... we need to figure out what we're going to do. Like, how we're going to convincingly pass as each other."

Theo grinned again, "Oh, man, that's easy though. You're already pissed at me, so you just need to stay in that headspace. I'm a bundle of energy because this is hilarious, so I just need to stay in that headspace. We got this."

Liam glared harder at him, wondering if he tried hard enough, if he could manifest Theo dropping dead right now.

Liam patted himself down suddenly, staring at Theo, "Where's my phone?" Theo blinked at him innocently, shrugging.

He didn't have time to think too much more about it, because there was a knock on the door, which undoubtedly meant that Mason and Corey had come to get them.

"I swear to god, I will actually neuter you if you embarrass me."

Theo looked far too amused for Liam's comfort, "Nah, you won't. You like me too much."

He took off walking down the stairs and Liam was left following after him in a huff.

When "Liam" opened the front door, Mason and Corey stood there, wearing Among Us morph suits, Corey with a little plant stalk on his head (which he'd clearly painted on cardboard) and Mason wearing a little creepy mask over top.

They, too, looked totally normal, compared to Theo's ridiculous skimpy Robin costume.

Theo was right, all he had to do was maintain this level of shitty and annoying and everyone would definitely believe he was Theo. Acting as Liam was the harder job, but Theo didn't seem phased by it.

"Hello, Robin!" Mason said in a sing song voice, brows raising in surprise. Corey let out a wolf whistle. Liam wanted to die. Let the earth open up and swallow him whole.

Theo, in his stupid body, did another spin, smiling. "Good, right? Theo picked it out."

Liam, for his part, was still standing on the bottom step, glaring as intensely as he could manage, fully decked in his Batman costume.

Mason and Corey both turned to him, brows raised and smirks on their faces.

Liam didn't know what it meant, but he hated it.

Liam wanted to say something back, to make Theo look as bad, but anything he could think to say would give him away. What would Theo say in a moment like this?

He settled on nothing, and just walked down the stairs, trying to emulate Theo's easy confidence. Since Liam had none of that easy confidence, this was a legitimate struggle.

"Do you know what everyone else is going as?" He asked as they got into Mason's car, just wanting to know exactly how embarrassing his costume was.

"Not everyone. I think Lydia and Malia are Daphne and Velma. Scott and Stiles are Shaggy and Scooby, I think. I don't really know about anyone else." Corey said the words slowly, like he was trying to make sure he didn't miss anyone he knew about.

Beautiful, so Liam really would be the only idiot in latex booty shorts.

They sat in the back seat, and Liam leaned across enough to jab Theo in the ribs. In his ribs, technically.

Theo only took a moment before he reciprocated, and within seconds, the two were in a little war of elbows and glares.

"Can you two keep it in your pants long enough to get to the party?" Mason asked with a scoff, but he was smiling, so Liam figured they weren't in too much trouble.

Still, what was with all the innuendo lately?

"I'm surprised you're even coming, Theo. Didn't think parties with the gang were really your scene."

Liam looked at Theo, trying to decide what he would say in this moment, before he shrugged, trying to sound as annoying and cocky as possible, just to be convincing as Theo. "Yeah, well, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to put Liam in latex." Far as he knew, that was the only reason Theo was doing this, and frankly, he should've known as soon as Theo agreed to go with him to this party at all.

Theo grinned at him, so Liam figured he was absolutely right.

When they finally got to the party, Liam swallowed hard. He desperately didn't want to do this. He was going to have to sit around all night and watch Theo embarrass the hell out of him. That was the best case scenario. He wasn't sure what the worst was, but he knew Theo probably had plans.

And watch Theo embarrass him he did.

Theo made sure to greet and talk to absolutely everyone Liam knew.

He danced, and did shots that wouldn’t affect his body anyway, and made an absolute spectacle of himself.

Liam stayed off to the side, arms folded, leaning against a wall, absolutely seething. Who gave Theo the right? As Liam stared, he watched his own body do a slut drop, get back up and start doing something Liam could only describe as a kind of twerking. He didn't even know he was capable of that, but apparently Theo was a better dancer than Liam was.

Liam liked being involved. He liked dancing and being part of things and hanging out with his friends. What he didn't like was watching Theo do it all on his behalf, far more outgoing and flirtatious than Liam himself ever.

Nobody had bothered him for much of the night, and Liam didn't know whether that was because people still held a grudge against Theo or because Theo put off such a grumpy vibe whenever he was out, but he didn't mind it. He didn't want to pretend to be Theo right now, he wanted to plot Theo's murder.

"You know you don't have to stand her brooding all night?" It was Scott's voice that broke through his mental yelling at Theo.

Liam glanced up. Fuck. How did Theo act around Scott again? "Dunno what you mean." He settled on, trying to keep his voice deep and calm, like Theo's would be.

"You could just go dance with him, y'know?" Scott attempted again.

Liam's eyes snapped up, and he stared at Scott for a moment. He tried to keep his expression neutral, but he was confused. Why would Scott think Theo wanted that?

"Look, it's fine, Theo. Everyone knows Liam's yours."

Liam only barely stopped himself from doing an actual spit take. What the fuck? Everyone knows what? How would anyone know that? Why would anyone think that? Why would Scott, of all people, be saying that to Theo? He had no idea how to respond, so he just said nothing. He must've looked panicked, because Scott spoke again.

"Don't worry, I haven't said anything to him," He said, his voice a little softer. "But you should. He's a good kid, but he's kind of an idiot. If you don't outright tell him, he'll never know."

Liam wasn't sure what he was supposed to feel here. Offended? Confused? Annoyed?

"Tell him what?" Liam managed to get out.

"Theo, no offence, but you've already told me far too much to start playing dumb about this now."

Liam's mind went totally blank. No thoughts, head empty. He had nothing. Nothing to offer. Nothing to say. No understanding of what was happening here.

"Just... consider telling him, alright? I mean, he put on that costume. Maybe he's... open to the idea."

Liam wanted to scream, but he had no idea what he would be screaming about if he did. He didn't understand. He felt like a whole important conversation was going on without him and he had totally missed anything that might clarify it.

"Um, sure." Liam managed, hoping to sound convincingly like Theo. "I'll, uh, consider... telling him. What you think I should tell him."

Scott walked away, and Liam stared at Theo. Theo in his body. Theo making his body do dance moves that Liam never imagined he would do.

Theo grabbing Nolan's hand, spinning him around. He wanted to be angry, but he was too busy being incredibly confused.

Liam walked over to the bar Lydia had organised, figuring he should at least get a drink, even if it wouldn't work on him anyway and there was no good point, just to look like he was fitting in.

He heard the bang with absolutely no context, and when he turned around, he saw his own body, standing over someone who had been dropped to the ground, clutching their eye.  
Liam just stood, blindly watching what was happening unfold in front of him. 

"How dare you touch hi--me like that?!"

Liam didn't move, didn't know what to do. Was this Theo's weird version of defending his honour?

He ran a hand through his own -- Theo's -- messy hair, watching as Liam's own body stooped, hitting the man again. Liam didn't see it, he didn't know what the man had done to get on Theo's bad side like this, but they were only a few punches in when it suddenly hit Liam.

Why wasn't anyone doing anything about this? Why wasn't anyone stepping in?

It was because when Liam freaked out like this, it was Theo who usually stepped in. Everyone was waiting for Theo to step in.

What would Theo do in this situation? Usually he'd make some sarcastic comment about Liam going to jail or having to learn how to clean up the bodies. Since Theo had actually done all those things, he doubted that would work. He'd never truly had to calm Theo down like this before.

Still, he moved quickly through the dance floor, his friends and strangers parting to let him get to Theo. Or who they thought was Liam.

He needed to be convincing about this. "Li." He tried, thinking of how Theo would get his attention, the nicknames and cadences he would use. "Liam, it's fine. You're fine, you need to... you need to stop."

Theo didn't stop though, and Liam stopped down to Theo's level, whispering, in the hope of not being overheard, "Theo, please."

Liam wondered if this was how he looked to everyone else when he lost it. Honestly, it was sort of terrifying. Liam wasn't scared of Theo, exactly, but he was certainly scared of what he might do. Of how it might affect him. When Theo didn't stop, didn't listen, Liam frowned.

He only had one other game plan, and it wasn't a good one.

Without much of a second thought, he stooped, grabbed Theo as well as he could, and hauled Theo up onto his shoulder. He was glad to be in Theo's body suddenly, because he was pretty sure it would be a lot harder for Liam's body to carry Theo's, just by pure size difference.

It occurred to Liam that this wasn't the first time Theo's body had carried his. That after the zoo incident, Theo had carried Liam back to his car, taken him away from the dangerous situation. Stopped him from losing it to his anger. It was sort of ironic, that it was happening again now.  
He made to leave the party as quickly as he could, ignoring Theo's protests and attempts to get away. Liam wasn't overly impressed with having his own rear-end so close to his face, but he was going to have to get over it.

When they got out into the chilly night air, Liam put Theo back down, admittedly probably a little bit too roughly. "What the hell, man? What was that?"

Maybe he should've been nicer about it. Maybe he should've been more concerned. But the whole evening had put him so off base that he had no idea how he was meant to react to any of it.

"I really wish I was in my own body right now," Theo said, and Liam's own voice sounded defeated and sad in his ears. Liam remembered. He remembered how the bursts of anger from the IED were immediately followed by intense, uncontrollable guilt. How difficult it was to overcome that feeling. How much you hated yourself after.

"What?" Theo glanced up, seemingly confused, and shook his head. "No, it's not that. I don't really feel any... angrier than normal. It's that I wish I could see your eyes right now."

Liam stared at him for a moment. His body language was different now. Weirdly, he looked more like actual Liam. He had his knees up, elbows leaning against them, head bowed and shoulders hunched.

Suddenly, there was an inkling of something. Of some realisation. “Theo... why did you put me in latex?”

“What?” Theo snapped, looking tired and annoyed.

“Why did you put me in latex, Theo?”

He shrugged, not answering.

Liam tried another approach. “Why did you punch that guy?”

“He grabbed you.” Theo answered automatically, like Liam was stupid.

Liam blinked. “Grabbed me how?”

“Don’t make me say it.” Theo groaned.

Liam kept pushing, trying to make sense of what was going on. “And you felt... violated? That’s totally fair.” He nodded, sounding weirdly calm and patient, even to his own ears.

“I mean... yes, but no. I felt like you were violated. And I felt annoyed because people were staring at you and saying things all night.”

Liam gave him a look, “You put me in latex booty shorts...? What did you imagine would happen?”

“I... don’t know.” He admitted, sounds frustrated, unwilling to talk about this. “But... I didn’t like it.”

Liam sat by his side, letting out a sigh. “You know, Scott said something kind of weird to me.” Liam hedged, wetting his lips and staring ahead, trying to give Theo some space to process what he was saying.

Theo grumbled, “What the fuck did he say?”

Liam half smiled. Scott was right. He was an idiot. “He said, um, ‘Don’t worry, everyone knows Liam’s yours.’”

Theo just cursed. “Fucking Scott, I didn’t even think about that.”

Liam sat in silence, waiting for some other reaction from Theo. It was weird to see him from this perspective. Weird to see the emotion on his own face. Funnily enough, he felt like he could read it better. Theo was far better at hiding his emotions than Liam, and even with Theo in Liam’s body, he understand better.

Theo looked sad. He looked sad and really worried. Actually, Liam wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Theo look like that before. He always seemed so self assured.

Liam wondered if he was just upset Scott had said something that made him seem something he wasn’t. Part of him thought it was something else entirely, that maybe Theo actually was jealous of others around Liam, that maybe his flirting wasn’t fucking with him, but actual flirting.

But believing that took a sense of confidence Liam didn’t really possess. He kept trying to convince himself Theo was annoyed because Scott had misrepresented him. Because he’d embarrassed him.

“If... if you don’t want me to stay with you anymore, I totally get it. I could ask Scott or Mason or try to get an apartment or—“

This was totally unexpected. Of all the things Liam thought Theo would say, that wasn’t even on his radar. “What?” He asked dumbly.

“I mean, I wasn’t trying to... make you uncomfortable, I just...”

Liam blinked, “Flirt by making innuendos, tackling me and putting me in skin tight superhero costumes?”

Theo glanced at him, his face unreadable. “Yeah.”

“Right. Well... now I really fucking need to get out of your body.”

Theo looked stricken. “I’m sorry.”

“No, asshole, I need to get out of this body because I can’t kiss you when you’re in mine.” Liam said, as if Theo was stupid, even though he was the one who had been stupidly missing all of this subtext.

“Oh... Okay, now I really want my fuckin’ body back.”

Liam grinned at him, unsure how they’d gotten to this point but sort of glad about it.

“Does this mean I can pee now?” Theo asked and Liam sighed.

“You two lovebirds ready to go?” Mason asked, making them both jump.

“It’s early, isn’t it?” Liam asked.

“Yeah, but Liam kinda spoiled the mood by beating on that guy,” He joked. Theo glared at him, through Liam’s eyes. “Not that you didn’t earn the right to hit the guy.” Mason added.

Liam pulled himself to his feet, holding a hand out to Theo to help him up. Theo took it and got to his feet.

“Aren’t you freezing your ass off?” Corey asked Theo, who looked down at himself.

“Nah, totally worth it.”

“Yeah, the pictures were pretty... risqué.” Mason snickered as they walked and Liam frowned.

“Wait, what pictures?” Liam asked.

“You haven’t seen them yet?” Mason and Corey exchanged a look, maybe assuming Theo would be jealous. Theo was actually smirking widely, and Liam wondered how they couldn’t see that wasn’t him.

“No...” Liam said and Corey passed back his phone. The pictures were... a lot. Liam posing in the ridiculous outfit Theo had put him in. Bare legs and a skintight suit leaving very little to the imagination.

His head snapped up at Theo, scandalised. “What the fuck?” He asked. “These are... I can’t...” Liam was left with nothing but making noises and flailing his arms, which made Mason and Corey laugh.

“You owe me ten bucks.” Corey said quietly to Mason, maybe forgetting about super hearing.

“What the hell did you bet on?” He snapped, frowning.

Mason snickered, “Well, the first bet was whether Theo had seen the pictures already, worth five and then the second was whether he’d be horrified or... into it.”

“Who said he was jealous?” Theo asked, maybe defending himself, though the reaction hadn’t even been his, but Liam’s. And technically, Corey hadn’t won either bet, since Theo posted them and apparently wasn’t jealous anyway. Liam wasn’t sure whether he was allowed to sort of wish he had been instead, given he’d copped the brunt of all the embarrassment.

“I mean, he stood in the corner all night throwing death glares at anyone who came near you. Looked a helluva lot like jealousy to me. Frankly, I thought he would be the one to knock someone on their ass for touching you.”

How right Mason was. Both in that, actually, Liam had been jealous. He’d been busy focusing on being angry about his body and Theo hadn’t been going too near anyone, but he didn’t overly like the thought of anyone flirting with Theo, even in his body.

But he was also right in that it was in fact Theo who had hit someone for getting a little too close to Liam. Liam had fully assumed he was just annoyed because he felt objectified. But no. He was annoyed Liam had been objectified. He was annoyed others were hitting on Liam.

Liam and Theo exchanged a look. Liam was still looking annoyed and suspicious, but Theo had a wide grin on his face. Evidently it was hilarious to Theo that Liam had been called out on seeming jealous, though he had been the one who’d lost his temper over it.

Mason was staring at the two of them, eyes narrowed slightly. He looked them both up and down, posture, clothes, everything. “Holy shit.”

“What?” Corey asked, not seeing whatever Mason was seeing.

“Liam... What was the first thing I ever said to you?” Mason asked, eyes fixed on Theo.

“Uh...” Theo glanced at Liam, panic in his eyes. “Hi?” He guessed and Liam sighed. Not even close. And Liam definitely would’ve remembered. In fact, Mason’s first words to Liam had been quite funny and distinct. ‘I heard you get really mad,’ five year old Mason had said. ‘And I was hoping if you were really mad at me, maybe you could hit me so I wouldn’t have to do gym today.’ Liam hadn’t hit him, but they had gotten in trouble for trying to cut class together.

“I knew it. What the fuck happened?” Mason asked, looking at them both.

Liam sighed, hearing Theo’s gravelly tone when he spoke. “Theo tackled me this morning. We were fighting and hitting each other and when we got up, we were...” He gestured wildly between them, trying to explain that they got switched.

“Woah, what?” Corey asked, trying to catch up but out of his depth.

“So then... that costume...” He gestured at Theo.

“Theo was going to make me wear it, but since he’s me...” Liam trailed off, frowning at it.

“And you punching that guy...” Mason continued, putting it all together.

“He kept saying crass shit about Liam’s ass.” Theo filled in.

“So then I won the bet.” Mason turned on Corey, “Theo posted those photos. They weren’t even of Liam. Well, they were, but Theo in Liam’s body.”

Corey blinked. “I feel like I’ve missed something.” He pointed at Liam, wearing Theo’s body and his Batman suit. “Liam...?” He asked, and Liam nodded. Then he looked at Theo, complete with spandex and no privacy for Liam’s body. “Theo?” Theo waved sarcastically.

“Why didn’t you just... tell us...?” Mason asked.

Honestly, Liam had no good answer. Why hadn’t they?

“I wanted to torture Liam.” Theo answered casually. “It backfired.”

Corey looked between them. “What did you think would happen if you put him in that? He’s hot.”

They all looked at Corey. “Oh, come on, it’s objectively true.” Corey defended with a scoff.

“Honestly, when I picked it out, I was only thinking of how good it’d look and how shy he would be. Didn’t even consider other people looking at him.” Theo admitted. “Guess I’m getting worse at evil plans in my old age.”

“Just sloppy and horny.” Corey answered and Theo looked shocked. Liam and Mason both laughed, but Liam could feel his face burning a little.

“Wait a second!” Mason said after a few moments of walking, something else hitting him. They all stopped again. “Neither of you denied being jealous. Theo didn’t deny wanting to see you in that outfit. Does that mean...?”

Liam and Theo exchanged another uncomfortable look and Mason beamed. “Fucking finally! We’ve all been telling him forever, Liam won’t ever notice on his own, someone has to tell him and—“

“Did everyone know except me?! Where’s the loyalty, Mase?” He burst out.

They got in the car and though the drive home wasn’t a quick one, the four talked and laughed all the way, amused at their own stupid situations. Mason and Corey kept telling stories about dumb things Theo had done to try to get Liam’s attention. Making certain jokes. Buying new cologne. At one point, he had walked into Liam’s room naked. Apparently it had been something of a running joke between the rest of them. What would come first, Liam figuring it out or Theo learning to communicate properly.

Actually, Liam did remember the naked incident. Theo had walked in, totally casual, a box of cookies in front of his crotch. “Want one?” He’d asked.

Liam had shrieked and bounded across the room, refusing to let his eyes linger on Theo. Liam had been in denial, he realised now.

When they got dropped back, Liam and Theo made their way back into the house. Theo looked freezing and Liam thought that was karma. Til his parents saw them enter.

“Oh my,” His mother said with a frown, looking at the two of them.

Theo smiled sheepishly and Liam thought he could drop dead from embarrassment right at that moment.

“Theo made me wear it,” Theo explained, evidently somewhat trying to protect Liam. Or something.

His mom gave him a look and Liam gave a sheepish smile. What was he meant to do now? This was his mother!

“Well, uh... I think I’m going to go shower and change. Have a good night.” Theo said awkwardly, running up the stairs two at a time to escape the weird moment.

When he was gone, Liam was broken from his own awkwardness, moving to leave too.

“Liam, darling!”

Liam stopped, turning back without thinking.

“Be nice to Theo, the boy has no idea what to do with feelings.”

Liam was going to say something back about how, duh, he was nice to Theo and why would his mother even suggest that when it dawned on him. “You know I’m me?” He asked.

“I’m your mother.” She told him, like it was obvious. “I knew as soon as ‘you’-“ she held up air quotes, “- made that comment at the table this morning.” She told him.

Liam gawked. “Why did you let me suffer?” He asked and Jenna shrugged.

“It was funny.” She told him, before Liam shook his head and ran up towards his bedroom.

When he opened the door, his own body was sitting nervously on the bed, waiting for him. Liam eyed him confusedly.

“I didn’t know if i was allowed to shower.” He admitted.

Liam snorted, “Just... yeah, go shower. Just... don’t judge me. It’s weird that I won’t be there the first time you see me naked.” He commented.

Theo scoffed, a little confidence inserted into his tone. “You could always come with me?” He suggested, taking a step towards Liam. The expression was very much Theo, even on Liam’s face.

“I told you, I’m not kissing you with my face.” Liam told him, trying hard not to smile, though he was genuinely amused by Theo’s suggestion.

“Why not?” Theo smirked, and Liam wondered if this was what his face looked like when he was snarking. Why did anyone ever want to kiss him? “I’ve been thinking about it for months.” He admitted.

Liam half smiled, “I thought you were fucking with me.” He admitted.

“I was trying,” Theo smirked, a cocky smile on Liam’s face, “But you weren’t letting me.”

“I didn’t mean...” Liam scoffed, shaking his head, cheeks reddening.

“Come on,” Theo teased a little, pulling Liam closer by the Batman cape. “How many times have you told me to go fuck myself? I might never have this chance again.”

Liam knew Theo was joking around, but he still didn’t like the feeling of his own face hitting on him. He’d much rather hear it in Theo’s voice. He’d much rather be looking into his eyes.

“Just... don’t judge me.” Liam began as Theo walked off towards the bathroom to shower.

“Trust me, judging you is the last thing I’ll be doing.” He called back over his shoulder.

Liam stripped back out of the costume, glad he hadn’t removed Theo’s underwear earlier and lay on his bed, arms behind his head. He felt emotionally exhausted and a little overwhelmed. It had been a big day and Liam really had no idea how to feel about the weird and deeply embarrassing development of it all.

A little later, Theo returned, a towel tied around his — Liam’s — waist.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d still be in here when I got back.” Theo admitted, “Or like... are we switching rooms? Or...?” He seemed sort of nervous, which was weird to Liam. He wasn’t used to ever seeing Theo looked nervous.

Liam smiled a little, “I was thinking we could... both stay here?”

“I thought you said...?”

“No kissing. Just... falling asleep side by side.”

Theo nodded, and Liam was really surprised by how nervous he seemed. Theo always gave off an air of absolute confidence. Of knowing exactly who he was and what was going on in his life. Maybe, he realised, it was a defence mechanism. Maybe he was just a teenage boy, like any other. Maybe he had been through hell and had never learned to process his feelings.

Liam sat up and held a hand out to Theo. He wondered if it was weird to him to see himself laying there holding out a hand as it was for Liam himself.

Theo took his hand and lay down beside him stiffly, like he wasn’t sure what to do. It was late and they were both tired, but there was also a charge of energy. Months of hating each other, followed by months of saving each other, months of being bickering friends. Now this, whatever this was. From what he could gather, Theo had been waiting longer than him for this.

Liam figured that maybe, idiot though he was, this was the part he was good at. He had a loving mother. A best friend. A pack. He had had affection and love in his life. Theo hadn’t.

He curled up at Theo’s — or his — side and rested his head on Theo’s chest, arms folding across him. Theo seemed tense and unsure, but after a few minutes, he settled into it, arms wrapping tightly back around Liam.

Liam didn’t know how long they each stayed like that before they fell asleep, but he was perfectly content laying there, his breathing syncing with Theo’s waiting for sleep to eventually come take them.

When he awoke the following morning, it was with a shard of light piercing across his face. He glanced up, seeing the blind on his window caught. Theo’s face was still in darkness, and he slept on, but Liam was caught by the bright light of morning.

He took a moment to examine Theo’s face. Long eyelashes, smooth skin, light stubble, floppy hair. He stared for a few moments before it hit him. Theo’s face. Theo’s actual face. Not his face. He wanted to test his own, but to do so would be to wake Theo, and he wasn’t doing that.

Theo had enough trouble sleeping anyone, Liam would be damned if he was the reason he lost any sleep time now.

He tried to settle back into Theo’s side, but the boy had the senses of a hawk. He jumped awake, sensing somebody was watching him, and Liam nearly fell off the bed. Maybe it was a remnant of his life with the Doctors, or his trip to hell, but it sure freaked Liam out.

After a moment of panic in his green eyes, Theo set his sights on Liam, as if realising where he was. “Hello, gorgeous.” He said, his morning voice lower and scratchier than usual, groggy.

If there had been any doubt in Liam’s mind that he wanted Theo, that took it away. Now that he was himself again and Theo was Theo, Liam practically dove on top of him, kissing him hungrily. Maybe it was gross to do this first thing in the morning, but Liam didn’t care. It was all hitting him like a ton of bricks and in a second, he was straddling Theo, hands on his chest, putting every ounce of build up and desire into this kiss. God, he should’ve just kissed him in that elevator.  
It didn’t take Theo long to react with equal fervour, his hands snaking into Liam’s hair and holding him there tightly.

When they had to pull away, Theo was staring up at Liam. He looked exhausted and groggy, excited and awake, all at once. His eyes seemed greener this morning, and there was a smile pulling at his lips as he rested a hand on Liam’s cheek.

“I love... your eyes,” He attempted, clearly unable to say what he really meant.

Liam gave a little smile back. His mom had been right. Theo didn’t really get feelings yet. That was okay by Liam. “I love your eyes too.”


End file.
